Holding Out Hope for a Better Life
by IAMGinny
Summary: A collection of one-shots centered on Natsume and the important people in his life, human and ayakashi. Inspired by harunekonya's "The Human Mask". Chapter 3: The Fujiwaras plan a family vacation, and it takes Natsume an embarrassingly long time to realize that he is included in that "Family".
1. Chapter 1

**I know, I know. I'm starting another story. But I'm excited for this one! It's going to be a series of one-shots that I update when inspiration strikes. You can read it as a chronological story, but it isn't going to have an overall plot, just a warning.**

 **It will center mainly on Natsume's relationship with the Fujiwaras (so lots of fluff), but Natori, Matoba, Tanuma and Taki, Nishimura and Kitamoto, and a few ayakashi (canon and OC) will also make appearances.**

 **Please excuse any discrepancies between my stories and the manga or anime; this is simply my take on the series.**

 **A huge thanks to the wonderfully talented harunekonya for inspiring many of these one-shots and letting me borrow a few of their ideas!**

 **Natsume Yuujinchou is not mine.**

* * *

Chapter 1: Of Names

 _For the first week after Takashi-kun moved in with them, he called them both "Fujiwara-san"._

Touko knew it was a bit much to expect of him so soon after coming to live with them. It was plain to see that he was unused to the familiarity with which they referred to him, and Touko wondered a bit spitefully—something very much uncharacteristic of her—if any of his previous guardians had even _tried_ to make him feel welcome. Or wanted.

But she supposed that was where she and Shigeru were different.

Almost from the moment Shigeru had seen him, they'd wanted to help him. Meeting him herself had only reinforced that desire. The pale, thin boy who was faultlessly polite and sported a painfully fake smile.

They wanted to give him a chance to put down some roots. A home that she doubted—after their following meetings—he'd had since his father died.

They hadn't taken him in blindly, of course. But the reports they heard from his past guardians seemed directly in opposition to the boy's sweet, quiet voice and withdrawn behavior. They'd been expecting an attention seeker, not necessarily of his own error. But the Natsume Takashi that now took up residence in their (formerly) extra bedroom was quiet and considerate almost to the point that it seemed he wanted to fade into the background. He was always well-mannered and if she or Shigeru drew him into a conversation he replied promptly and politely. But his responses were just as flawlessly fake as his smiles.

If she hadn't seen the way his real smile lit up his entire face, she might have believed in his false ones. But she had, just once or twice. When he's said that he'd like to come live with them. When she and Shigeru bickered good-naturedly at the dinner table the second night and Takashi-kun thought they hadn't caught it.

She wanted him to feel comfortable with them, and she thought this was as good a way to start as any other.

Shigeru whole-heartedly agreed. He also agreed that perhaps she should broach the subject, as Takashi-kun seemed more comfortable with her. And Shigeru knew he wasn't the best talker.

The dinner table was quiet as the meal commenced with a quiet "thank you for the food" from Takashi and a louder chorus from Shigeru and herself. It hadn't escaped her attention that Takashi always waited for his guardians to begin eating before he even picked up his chopsticks.

"Takashi-kun."

He startled slightly at being addressed. His eyes flickered up to her face before falling back to the food in front of him.

"Yes?"

"Would you rather we called you Natsume?"

His head rose at the question, and his face was faintly inquisitive.

"I don't mind either. Whatever you'd prefer Fujiwara-san."

"The familiarity doesn't bother you?"

"No. I don't mind."

"Takashi-kun then." She said with a satisfied smile.

It was subtle approach, but Takashi was a smart boy.

The rest of dinner went smoothly, with Touko keeping a steady buzz of chatter going.

As Shigeru excused himself, Takashi-kun rose as well. He turned in the doorway to look at her for a moment, worrying his lip.

"Thank you, Touko-san."

The smile that accompanied the phrase of gratitude was real, and it was beautiful.

The first week passed, weeks turned to months, and Takashi-kun continued to call her Touko.

* * *

 **So tell me what you think! Reviews really help me stay motivated, but followers are just as great!**

 **Next Time:** _ **Natsume thought it was just a cold, so he didn't bother the Fujiwaras with it. It wasn't just a cold.**_


	2. Chapter 2: A Bother

**Hi guys! Oh my gosh I was not expecting such a reaction, thank you so much! Five reviews, five favorites, and ten follows for just the first installment? Not bad at all!**

 **SkyHana and amerine905: Thank you so much; since it looks like people like the chapter preview I will definitely continue to do it!**

 **Zundial: Thank you! I also really love the relationship between Natsume and the Fujiwaras, any time the manga has a chapter about it I die a little from the feels.**

 **A sincere thank you to Sincerely the Sign Painter and milkachocolate for leaving such sweet reviews!**

 **So anyway, on to chapter 2!**

 **I don't own Natsume Yuujinchou.**

* * *

Chapter 2: A Bother

 _Natsume thought it was just a cold, so he didn't bother the Fujiwaras with it. It wasn't just a cold._

A little over a month and a half into living with Touko and Shigeru-san, Natsume realized he was feeling a bit under the weather. He couldn't exactly pinpoint when he actually started feeling ill, but he knew that the headaches and chills had been persistent for at least a week. But it _was_ still winter, and it wasn't unusual for him to have a sinus headache around the beginning of spring.

He was now reasonably sure that he had a cold. He could pass off the runny, stuffy nose off as allergies, and even the sore throat could be attributed to the cold, dry weather. But the fatigue was different from the usual tired feeling that nearly always plagued him. It left him with a bone-deep exhaustion and an inability to stay alert that—with everything else—left him feeling fairly miserable.

And at the moment he really wasn't feeling up to being chased through Yatsuhara by an angry ayakashi. This one was large (but weren't they always?) and hairy with a paper mask over its face, growling nonsensically about some book and "Natsume Reiko". How this monster knew his grandmother or what he wanted with her book, he didn't know and at the moment didn't care.

He needed to get away before he _fell down_.

He trampled through the undergrowth, gasping for breath and hoping against hope to find a shrine or something. _Anything_.

For once luck was on his side and he collapsed within the grounds of the shrine, earning old looks from a group of teenagers from a different school. They were probably there to pray before an exam.

He'd found a popular shrine. Joy.

There was probably a god around somewhere in that case. He'd leave as soon as he knew it was safe.

By the time he'd made it back to the Fujiwaras' home, it was nearly dark. Shigeru-san's car was parked in the drive. Touko-san was probably worried.

"I'm home!" he called, toeing of his shoes in the entranceway and moving to pop his head into the kitchen where Touko-san usually was. The door to the living room slid open behind him and he turned, coming face to face with Touko-san's worried face.

"Takashi-kun! Welcome home. Where have you been?"

"I'm sorry Touko-san. I tried to take a shortcut home and ended up getting lost. I didn't mean to worry you." He answered contritely.

"Oh . . . well perhaps we should get you a phone. So you can call if you'll be home late."

Natsume shook his head quickly, eyes widening. "That's really not necessary. I'll make sure to be home on time." It still surprised him how easily the Fujiwaras spent money on him. They'd insisted on buying him new clothes when he'd moved in with them, seeing he didn't have anything nearly warm enough for the time of year. At least not clothing that still fit him. They'd taken that opportunity to buy him an entirely new wardrobe.

"Well you'll need these things in a few months anyway," Touko had said as she held up a green short-sleeved tee shirt with buttons at the collar.

She'd seemed to be having fun picking things out for him, so he'd kept quiet. From the amused look on Shigeru-san's face, Touko-san did this often.

They'd also apparently purchased all of the furniture in his room new, saying that the room had been mostly empty and what had been in there wasn't fit for decent living.

His other relatives, while never purposely cruel, had never made an effort to be kind either.

"Takashi-kun, are you feeling alright?" Touko-san's voice was concerned again.

"Yes, I'm fine."

"You just look a bit flushed. It's the weather I suppose. I'll run you a bath so you can warm up, I don't want you getting sick. Its flu season you know!"

The Fujiwaras were very kind, and Natsume would not let himself be any more of a burden to them than he already was.

"Thank you Touko-san." He called as she bustled past him up the stairs to run the bath.

Despite Touko-san's best efforts, he woke the next morning feeling terrible.

He assured Touko-san that he was fine, but from the way she flicked concerned eyes over his pale frame he knew she didn't really believe him. Shigeru-san suggested that he stay home after taking a single look at him.

They allowed him to go against their better judgment, with the excuse that he simply hadn't gotten enough sleep the previous night.

He felt even guiltier as Touko-san picked him up in the school infirmary half-way through the day. He fallen asleep at his desk and they'd had a hard time waking him. He'd felt dizzy and short of breath for the entire day, and he'd regretted not just taking Shigeru-san up on his offer to stay home.

The school nurse had taken his temperature. He had a 39.7 degree fever.

Touko-san had taken a taxi to get to the school, not wanting to make her sick child walk. The drive was silent and Natsume was having trouble staying awake. He was freezing and yet his face felt hot.

He didn't even realize he'd been tucked against Touko-san's side until he was being pulled away from her and laid on something soft.

He slept and slept and when he woke again he was bundled up in a hospital bed on the emergency ward.

"—bad guardian, Shigeru-san! . . . let his fever get so high . . ." That was Touko-san's voice, low so that she wouldn't wake him.

"You're not Touko. Takashi-kun is used to dealing with these things on his own. I am a bit worried that he let it get this bad though." That was Shigeru, speaking only a hairs-width louder.

"I'm sorry. I worried you." His voice was weak and heavy with sleep.

"Takashi-kun! Don't worry about that now, how are you feeling?"

Touko sat beside him on the bed and smoothed his hair gently.

"You aren't angry?"

"Oh, we are." Shigeru-san grumbled. "But we were more worried."

"I'm really sorry. You've done so much for me; I didn't want to bother you with this. But I've just made things worse."

"Takashi," Shigeru's voice was serious. ". . . be a bother."

"What Shigeru-san is trying to say—" Touko-san spoke up.

"I'm saying that we're going to worry about you. But that doesn't mean you should give us a legitimate reason too. If you're feeling unwell, tell us." The rebuke was gruff, but Natsume knew what Shigeru really meant.

 _You aren't a bother._

 _You aren't a burden._

 _Not to us._

* * *

 **So that's it for chapter two. I don't like it as much as chapter one, I thought it was a bit choppy. But tell me what you thought!**

 **I hope all of the characters are in character, I find Shigeru harder to write than Natsume or Touko because he isn't focused on as much in the anime or manga.**

 **Also, Natsume did not intentionally let himself get that sick. He just didn't want to bother the Fujiwaras, and he started feeling a lot worse at school. He had the flu, as you probably gathered, and by the time they reached the hospital his fever was up to around a 103 degree fever in Fahrenheit. Not quite dangerously high, but if it had gone up anymore it would have been.**

 **From this point on I will be taking requests! So if you have something you'd like to see, tell me! Just a heads-up, I won't write romance because I'd like to keep it canon-compliant. Plus Natsume doesn't seem very interested in a relationship in the anime or the manga.**

 **I have a few ideas for the next chapter, so I thought I'd leave it up to you guys.**

 _ **The Fujiwaras plan a family vacation, and it takes Natsume an embarrassingly long time to realize that he is included in that "Family".**_

 _ **Natsume knew he shouldn't have trusted Natori-san when he said he just wanted to "hang out".**_

 _ **The little Kitsune called him "nii-san" only once, and looked mortified afterwards, but Natsume doesn't think he really minds.**_

 _ **Madara did**_ **not** _ **snuggle. But the stupid brat looked like he was going to freeze to death.**_

 **So vote for one!**

 **Until next time!**


	3. Chapter 3: Of Family

**Hi guys! Sorry this took so long, I've been writing it in my head for like two weeks because I wanted it to be perfect! Now of course since I'm trying to write (type) it down physically, it will be complete crap. Because that's how being an author works!**

 **Oh my gosh, thank you so much for all of the awesome reviews!**

 **don Redmond: I totally agree that the Fujiwaras had a great effect on Natsume and his development as a character! And as I said in the first author's note, these one-shots won't necessarily happen in order. The first two did because it wouldn't make sense for them to happen during the course of the plot of the manga (which is pretty much the universe I'm using because there's more material to work with in tandem to my one-shots) so the first two happen before the start of the manga (and anime). The rest from this point on happen at some point during or after the events of the manga (the manga is ongoing, so whatever). Thank you for the beautiful review!**

 **Zundial: Thank you! And on the subject of the length of the one-shots, I totally understand why you'd want them longer. However I just write until I feel the story has been told, so some will be shorter than others. As a rule my chapters are around the length of the previous chapter, so I'm sorry if they seem short to you!**

 **Thank you so much to Sincerely The Sign Painter, Crow, amerine905, LuminousVega, BC1, KK, Yuki F. Karasu, Sora Nadeshiko, Baoscanine, and two lovely guests for reviewing!**

 **The first option won by a landslide, but I will be writing all four of the one-shots at some point, so don't worry if you voted for another option. You will get to read it!**

 **This takes place after the beginning of the manga, but still early on when Natsume is unsure of his place with the Fujiwaras.**

 **I don't own Natsume Yuujinchou.**

 **On to the chapter! Sorry for the horrendously long AN.**

* * *

Chapter 3: Of Family

 _The Fujiwaras plan a family vacation, and it takes Natsume an embarrassingly long time to realize that he is included in that "Family"._

Natsume had been on vacations before, of course. He'd lived with several relatives, some more financially sound than others, and those who were enjoyed treating their families to a change in scenery and family fun. More often than not they'd taken Natsume along, hardly able to leave him home alone at such a young age.

The kinder relatives had attempted to include Natsume, but most had taken him and then forgotten he was even there. Natsume hadn't minded. They'd usually had children of their own to entertain, and even at that young age Natsume hadn't wanted to be a more of a burden to the families he stayed with than his abilities already made him.

They'd still made for pleasant memories most of the time, if only because the ayakashi in the foreign cities they visited didn't know he could see them and he didn't stay long enough for them to find out.

He'd faded into the backgrounds of any pictures he was pulled into, and faded from his former guardians mind in the same vain.

So while Natsume had been on vacation many times, he'd never really been on a family vacation.

He couldn't have, considering he'd only recently gained something even vaguely resembling a family in the Fujiwaras.

The Fujiwaras were kind, both of them, and Natsume had no doubts that they would attempt to make him feel like part of the family. But he didn't doubt that he'd eventually slip their minds, just as he had with all of the previous kind people he'd lived with.

He waited for this inevitability all through their first official day in Hakone. Much of the previous day had been given over to making Sensei swear not to eat everything left in the house, standing in lines at the airports, and then resting at their hotel, where Touko-san oh-ed and ah-ed at their room. It was a western style hotel room and so different from the house he'd become fond of in his time with the Fujiwaras that it left him feeling slightly disoriented and uneasy.

But Shigeru-san had put much of his savings into this trip and so when his guardian asked how he liked the room he smiled and told him that he thought it was very nice.

They spent a good deal of the morning at the Shinto shrine of Hakone Jinja, and most of the afternoon on a Hakone Ropeway cable car, enjoying the beautiful view of the surrounding mountains and the boiling sulfur springs of Owakudani valley below.

All through the visit to the shrine Touko-san and Shigeru-san stayed attentive of him, asking about his fortune and commenting on the beauty of the old architecture. Likewise they kept him partly distracted on the Hakone Ropeway, telling him that they'd celebrated their honeymoon in Hakone and had wanted to return for a while.

"I'm sorry; you would have been able to visit sooner if you hadn't had to pay for me as well." He'd ducked his head guiltily, wedged between Touko-san and Shigeru-san on the small cable car.

Shigeru-san had brushed off his apology and clapped his shoulder, "It wouldn't have been a family vacation if you hadn't come with us, Takashi." He said it sternly with a tone of finality.

That evening they'd visited the hot springs and Shigeru-san filled the awkward silence between them with idle chatter for a while before going quiet. Natsume appreciated the effort, knowing Shigeru-san wasn't the most talkative person, and even after he withdrew to simply relax and let his mind wander the silence was comfortable.

They didn't stay terribly long at the hot spring, but Touko-san seemed rather satisfied with herself when they meet her at the entrance, hair damp and feeling refreshed.

She'd apparently struck up a conversation with a mother and daughter staying in the same hotel, and they'd chatted happily of their families throughout their bath.

"The daughter was your age Takashi-kun. I think she thought you were cute!"

Natsume felt his face heat at the implication and he heard Shigeru-san cough a laugh beside him.

They enjoyed dinner at the restaurant located within the hotel and returned to their room to order a movie off of the pay-per-view feature.

Natsume felt guilty for falling asleep part of the way through it, but it seemed the Fujiwaras didn't mind because when he woke the living room portion of their room was dark and he'd been stretched out on the sofa they'd piled onto to watch the movie, a blanket laid over him.

The light was still on in the adjoining room and the door was open. He could hear his guardians' quiet voices speaking in the other room.

" . . . Takashi-kun enjoying himself?"

That caught his attention. It was rude to eavesdrop, but well . . .

"I think he is, it can be difficult to tell with him sometimes." Shigeru answered her in a low voice.

"I wish he would open up to us more. He's such a sweet boy, but he comes home covered in scrapes and bruises. I've heard him yelling in his room at night, I think he has nightmares."

"I've heard that a few times as well. But he is more open now than he was a few months ago, give him time Touko."

"I'm trying. I just want him to know that we aren't going to turn him away . . . he can come to us when he needs help." Touko-san's voice rose slightly and quieted, as if she'd just remembered that the object of their conversation was only in the other room.

 _Please don't be upset Touko-san. I know you aren't like them, I really do, it's just . . ._

"I know, Touko. I want that too."

"Do you think he's happy? With us?"

 _I am, Touko-san, Shigeru-san. Happier than I've ever been._

"I like to think so."

 _Thank you. For everything._

Natsume fell asleep smiling into the arm of the sofa, and in the morning he woke ready to enjoy vacation with his family.

* * *

 **So there it was! Still not completely sure I like it, I feel like it ended kind of abruptly. No ayakashi because I wanted to focus on Natsume and the Fujiwaras, next chapter will make up for it, promise:)**

 **I did some research for this chapter, so all of the places they visited were real places. I picked somewhere more rural because I just can't see the Fujiwaras going on vacation to say, Tokyo. I didn't go into great detail partly because I'm not familiar enough with the culture to do a shrine visit justice, and partly because I wanted to focus on Natsume's thoughts through all of this more than the actual places.**

 **Natsume knows that the Fujiwaras care about him, but when an idea is bred into someone and reinforced repeatedly, it takes more than a couple months to make them think differently, even if consciously they know that they aren't in that situation anymore.**

 **Madara was mentioned, even if he didn't make an appearance!**

 **Next Time:** _ **Madara did not snuggle. But the stupid brat looked like he was going freeze to death.**_

 **This may or may not be a two-shot. Natori will make an appearance!**


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